Rejection
by HiddenEye
Summary: "Everything has to do with me. Your distance, your snappish words, the way you treat me has gotten worse for a reason," He leaned closer, as if sharing a secret. "I know, Nico. I know what you feel towards me was more than you expected it to be." Percico. One-shot.


Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respectful owners.

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"Hey."

Nico whirled around, heart thumping in his chest out of shock. The thumping didn't cease when he saw who spoke, and he cursed himself for feeling that way. But how can he stop himself? He couldn't stop the feeling of want and longing as it coursed through inside him, he couldn't stop the hurt as it bloomed like wildflowers. This was something beyond his control, something so untamed that even the son of Hades couldn't even get hold of it properly.

He mentally calmed himself down, schooling his expression into a look of boredom as he continued to gaze at the sea below, ignoring the young man behind him.

He heard shuffling before the said person leaned on the railing beside him. He could feel the heat radiating off his body, could smell the scent of the sea as he got nearer. He tensed his muscles as he forced himself to stay still, not daring to move, afraid that even a brush of a shoulder could set him off.

"How are things?" Percy asked casually, attempting to spark a conversation from the boy beside him.

"Aside from being almost killed Gods know how many times and being transformed into a vegetable, everything's peachy." He replied, sarcasm dripping in every word he spoke.

He raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"Never mind that," He snapped. He gripped the railing, using both hands to support himself. "Why are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be with Annabeth and the others or something?"

His insides were churning with bitterness, almost causing him to almost spat the words out. But he managed to rein them in, turning his voice monotonous. Percy shrugged, apparently didn't notice and was thick-skull like he had suspected years ago. "Yeah, but you're supposed to be with us too, right?" He glanced at him. "When I found out you were gone, I tried to find you," He chuckled slightly and continued to gaze at the waves. "Well, I didn't exactly try to find you you since I already knew where you were going to be."

Nico snorted. "You wasted your time," He retorted. "I wanted to be alone, away from people where I don't suffocate," He clench and unclenched his hand. "Why do you care anyway?" He mumbled under his breath, could barely be heard through the wind.

Gods forbid Percy suddenly had sharp hearing when he snapped his head to look at him, eyes full of shock. "Why would I care? Because you're my friend, Nico. You think I would abandon a friend in need?"

His words were like daggers into his heart, stabbing him again and again like it always did for the past few years. He took a breath. "I'm the son of Hades, Percy. I'm meant to be alone, I-"

"Bullshit."

He snapped his head to look at him, face incredulous. "What?"

The look he was given was intense, with anger present in his eyes. "Stop giving me excuses that you have to be alone, better yet, stop treating people as if they hate you," He raised his hand when he opened his mouth. "And don't give me that crap about the children of Hades are creepy just because their dad is the God of the Underworld."

"That's because we are creepy," He snapped. "We are meant to be alone, to be hated, casted off-"

"Then why isn't Hazel alone?" He cutted off. Nico opened his mouth again but shut it closed. "Why isn't she alone? Why isn't she hated like the other demigods as you claimed it to be?" He challenged, a glint in his eye that was only there when he was fighting. "Because she has friends, she has Frank, she has people who cares and loves her like she does to all of them. You have friends, friends who would die than hurting you, friends who would do anything to protect you, so it's best you try not to loose them because it's not everyday you find people like that. And you're not creepy, you're just..." He shrugged. "Different, like the rest of us."

Nico stared at him, shock written all over his face as he felt some sort of hope growing inside his chest. Could it be...? He sounded so sure, so honest. He searched his sea green eyes for anything that might be close to what he was suspecting, but felt the disappointment when he only saw the friendship shining in his eyes. Suddenly overwhelmed by frustration, he pushed himself off the railing, causing Percy to widen his eyes in surprise as he walked away from him, his feet thumping against the Argo II.

"Wait!" Percy called out as he quickly made his way towards him. Wrapping his fingers around his arm, he tugged Nico to him, causing them to bumped into each other. Nico flushed and pushed him away, a scowl forming on his face.

"What?" He snapped.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern tainting his voice.

He growled slightly. "Like I said," He gritted his teeth. "I need to be alone."

He turned around again, about to leave when he called out.

"It's me, isn't it?"

He paused, giving Percy the chance to continue. "I've done something, something that made you angry at me."

He laughed humourlessly. "What in that seaweed brain of yours thought I was mad at you?"

"If you're not mad at me, then why the Antarctic shoulder?"

He glared. "Just the way I am." He replied coldly.

The older boy shook his head. "Liar," He remarked as he walked closer.

Nico held his breath as he came closer, until he was standing right in front of him. The smell of the sea filled his senses again that he had to grit his teeth. He looked up slightly, since the son of Poseidon was taller than him. "All of you think I'm stupid just because I make stupid jokes," he said lowly. "Just because I'm not as smart as Annabeth, doesn't necessarily mean I'm an idiot to not notice how my friends are feeling. You were avoiding me, more than usual might I add, and I want to know if it's me you're mad at," He peered at him. "I want to fix things, Nico. Tell me what I did wrong and I try to make things right."

The younger boy took a step back, eyes hard. "You can't fix everything, you're not one of the Gods. Even sometimes They couldn't change what has been done," He ran his fingers through his thick locks, jaw clenched. "Look, this has nothing to do-"

"Again, liar. Everything has to do with me. Your distance, your snappish words, the way you treated me has gotten worse for a reason," He leaned closer, as if sharing a secret. "I know, Nico, I know what you feel towards me was more than you expected it to be."

Nico's breath hitched. He knew? No, no, no, no, he can't know. How in Hades name did he knew? He wanted to say this, to demand, to shout at him. But all he could manage was one word. "How?" He rasped out.

Percy sighed, straightening himself as he mimicked Nico's earlier gesture. "I heard you and Jason talking about it one day," He gave a wan smile. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I was just so sick of being treated as if I'm some trash to you, I needed to find out," His smile faded and his eyes darted to the ground, as if suddenly ashamed with himself. "I'm sorry," He began softly, looking him in the eye. "But I can't give you what you want."

He could feel the bile in his throat, stopping any words that wanted to go out. He swallowed it, feeling as if sandpaper was being rubbed against his trachea. He bowed his head. "You really do love her, huh?"

He sighed again. "Too much," He looked at him. "I hope we can still be friends, Nico." He said quietly. "I don't want to see you like this."

Nico laughed bitterly. "I've always been like this, Percy. You just didn't notice it," He smiled sardonically. "Fine, I can pretend we're still friends, I can pretend that I'm still an ass to everyone, but I can't pretend that this didn't happened, can't pretend as if you didn't know."

Percy reached out to him, but he backed away, shaking his head as he did so. "Don't touch me," He muttered. "Never touch me." He saw sadness in those sea green orbs, sadness for him. He saw something else that made anger claw its way up inside him. Pity. Pity that he had to feel this way, that he couldn't do anything about it. He whirled around and walked briskly away, leaving the man he loved dearly behind him.


End file.
